Kuala Lumpur: US patent grants have rebounded after four years of decline, rising by 3.8 per cent from calendar year 2023 to 324,043, with Samsung retaining top spot for the third year in a row, according to IFI CLAIMS Patent Services.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, a part of Digital Science, a London-based digital research technology company, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) data shows a substantial increase in patent activities. IFI specializes in translating this data into an annual US Top 50 and Top 10 Fastest Growing Technologies patent ranking, offering insights into companies’ research and development activity.
A statement from IFI CLAIMS Patent Services highlights that patent applications in the US reached a new peak, growing by three percent from 418,111 in 2023 to 430,625 in 2024, indicating a robust innovation economy. The company’s chief executive officer, Ronald Kratz, mentioned that this growth comes after a challenging period marked by a backlog in patent examinations. The USPTO is addressing this issue by hiring more examiners.
Samsung led the 2024 US Top 50 Ranking with 6,377 patents, marking a three percent rise from 2023 and representing nearly two percent of all patents granted in the US. Contract chip maker TSMC moved up to second place, surpassing Qualcomm, which dropped to third. Apple and Huawei completed the top five, while IBM, which held the top spot for 29 consecutive years, fell to eighth place, indicating a more selective patenting strategy.
Asian firms demonstrated significant progress, with Changxin Memory Technologies leaping 57 places, Tencent advancing 54, and LG Energy climbing 37 spots. Among US tech giants, only Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft made the top 50, while Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla were absent.
US companies led the world in patent grants with 143,382 patents, but international firms earned a significant portion (56 per cent), particularly from Japan (43,364), China (28,258), South Korea (24,115), and Germany (14,044).
The fastest-growing technology this year is operating or servicing cells related to electrolytic methods, which saw more than a 27 per cent rise from 2020 to 2024. Technologies that aim to diminish waste, such as reclaiming non-ferrous metals, recovery of waste materials, and destroying solid waste, also showed significant growth. Additionally, technologies focused on sustainability, such as producing protein from non-traditional sources, gained traction.
Patent activity remains a critical measure of corporate research and development productivity, technological efficiency, and intellectual property strategy, revealing trends and competition within industries. For further analysis, IFI CLAIMS Live 1000 provides live data and customizable tools to explore patent activities across multiple jurisdictions.